To Be Victorious: The Maestro Chronicles Book 6

by John Buttrick

  The stables were over to the east and several buildings that could be supply depots were in the center. A building twice the size of the depots caused Daniel to suspect it was a storehouse full of trinitrotoluene, judging by how far it was from all of the other structures, several hundred paces away from the nearest, which happened to be the place where the crews would sleep. The barracks were near a broad field, and also to the hill from which Dusk had chosen to cat-stare at the countryside. Seventy skyships, the huge upper parts of which were shaped and colored like watermelons, were moored to the ground. The lower parts, the gondolas, they were called in Accomplished Bonny Tell’s latest report, were brown and could hold up to twenty men.

  Soldiers in brown uniforms were walking all over the installation, some around the bloated ships, others moving purposefully from building to building, and the giant barns seemed to be the center of activity. Every single structure was painted gray, yet that detail was unimportant compared to the rest of the compelling visual Dusk was providing.

  What is in the super-large barns?

  Daniel could be there in an instant to find out and was tempted to do so.

  I smell more humans. Dusk graciously replied to his unspoken question. She was trying to be helpful, yet had no better answer than what he had already witnessed through her eyes and nose.

  The snap-crack of displaced air caused the panther to focus her attention a little more to the right where a Grand Circle of Aakacarns was suddenly in a spot between two buildings that had been unoccupied only moments before. In the center were two female Aakacarns Daniel had seen through the eyes of Slinky, Ana Tigress and Ursula Duggan.

  The existence of the base had to have something to do with Project Sky-cruiser, he was certain, but the notion of conveying to the location suddenly lost its appeal, and yet he knew the new development could not be ignored for long.

  A mental screech along with a sense of fight or flight from Bolter the hawk caught Daniel’s attention. Dusk, remain stealthy, yet be sure to catch sight of the barns when those doors open. He sent the thought.

  She, as usual when considering one of his requests, took her dignified time in making a response. The hard dirt hills I will watch for a time.

  He focused on the adamant hawk and was immediately soaring over a ferocious battle in an area he recognized as being eastern Ducaun, near the border with Zune. White clouds drifting in the upper air currents partly covered the blue sky. Below, the forest filled with witch-hazels, white ash, silver maples, oaks, and birch trees, was also filled with men on horses charging men on elephants. Both groups had to filter through the trees so the charge was not as fast as it otherwise could be, but where horse and elephant collided, equine and rider died. Those trunks, long tusks, and trampling feet were deadly.

  A trunk wrapped around a rider, pulled him from the saddle, and smashed him head first into a tree. What remained of him was thrown down and trampled to pulp. The huge head of the beast swung back, knocking the horse to the ground and then a giant foot came down on the poor animal’s head. Daniel could hear the crunch of the skull.

  Vultures, buzzards, and crows were circling in the skies and some resting in the upper branches of trees in anticipation of the feast to come. Behind the elephants were the Zunean regular cavalry units. Patches on their brown on green uniforms had the seahorse and trident of Zune. Their conical helmets had spikes on top and every soldier was fully armored with the fine steel the kingdom was known for. The regulars were filtering through the trees to the north, tens of thousands of riders who had not yet entered the fray, and Daniel realized the battle had only barely begun. Adrenalin filled him as he witnessed the coming together of opposing forces. He itched to cast a spell but was unable to do so from a conference-room on the other side of the kingdom.

  The Ducaunan Royal Cavalry, in their green with gold pin-striping on the pants and coat, were aiming black clubs provided to them by the Atlantan Guild. The deathsticks were black with a silver cap where the cap on a nightstick was made of copper and the only true difference was when the wielder pressed the ruby on a death stick, the target would fall dead rather than asleep. Daniel could not see the beams of potential projecting from the weapons pointed at the enemy, but he caught sight of a charging elephant as it dropped dead thirty strides from the cavalryman who was aiming at it.

  Mixed in with Tallen’s legion was a mustered army belonging to two Lords of the Land and Two Royal Knights of the Realm, Daniel knew their standards.

  Through the sharp eyes of Bolter, Daniel recognized General Jathem Tallen issuing orders from horseback. The middle-aged gentlemen possessing few wrinkles, a round face, and a man in excellent physical condition, trotted his black charger to the left and reigned in beside Captain Yolan. The General wore a pair of gold stars on the collar of his light green silk shirt, beneath which was the finest quality chain mail, and four golden hawks on the shoulders of his gold trimmed, dark green jacket. The royal hawk in flight was engraved in gold on his green lacquered helmet.

  Yolan’s uniform was the same except he had two silver bars on each shoulder and no stars on his collar. His face was darkened somewhat by whiskers that grew so fast he had to shave twice a day. Beside him was Accomplished Riff Berginon, whose eyes had a slight upward slant, the amber color was one of the physical signs of royalty in Cenkataar, along with skin the color of peaches blended in cream. Even though he was of the royal tribe, he was a distant cousin of the King, and never would have ascended to the throne even if he had not been an Aakacarn. The one hundred year-old member of the Department of Emissaries appeared to be a man in his mid-thirties. He sat saddle on a gray Ducaunan Racer and the hood of his blue cloak was pushed back enough for Daniel to see the communication array on the Emissary’s forehead. If he hadn’t spent ten years as an Aakademned and therefore unable to cast Ageless on his annum days, he would have probably appeared to be much younger.

  To his left was Sir Tomas Zollaf, a rugged man with a weathered face. His muster of two thousand men with a hundred Benhannon Guards made the Royal Knight a force to be reckoned with. His field uniform was exactly like the one hanging in Daniel’s wardrobe, with only a few exceptions, the family crest was different, a mountain lion springing from a tree, and the Knight below had no lightning bolts on his helmet. His field uniform consisted of polished chain mail, forest-green coat, and light green pants. The royal hawk in flight, which matched that on his green lacquered helmet, was sown over his heart, showing his allegiance to the crown. The black sword belt had a double row of diamonds studded around his waist and the magnificent sword of a Ducaunan Royal Knight of the Realm was on his left hip. Beside him was Luke Jacoby, a slim, dark-haired One-bolt Accomplished, assigned to protect and assist the Knight, and represent the Atlantan Guild. The number of Benhannon Guardsmen and Accomplisheds assigned to each Lord, General, and Knight of Ducaun varied with the preference of the noble, some wanted a few guards and an Aakacarn and some wanted a hundred guards and four Aakacarns.

  Riding up to the assembled leaders was Sir Carlo Bencofer, who was the closet knight in age to Daniel and the first one he had met. The man was in his late thirties with dark hair and brown eyes. His mustache was neatly trimmed and he seemed to possess more energy since the last time Daniel met up with him. He had mustered a thousand mounted men at the Queen’s orders, was assigned one hundred Benhannon Guards, and an Accomplished. Loraine DuPyre was of Serinian birth and as young as she appeared to be; nineteen. She was recruited by Seeker Ginnie Cree and only graduated nine days before taking the assignment. She joined the Department of Emissaries and volunteered to serve as liaison to the Royal Knight when Accomplished Will Leyer died in battle a day earlier. Unfortunately it was far from the first time an Emissary or Benhannon Guardsmen, had lost his or her life while protecting a knight or lord of Ducaun.

  The thoughts shot through Daniel’s mind while he watched his Guardsmen launch lances of light at the charging elephants and their riders. What he actually saw were hol
es suddenly appearing in both men and giant beasts. They bled and they fell. The Ducaunan forces were no longer charging the enemy, which had been costly; they were filling the gaps between the trees, and holding the line. Deadly and gruesome as the lances of light were, the deathsticks in the hands of so many soldiers proved to be the deadlier of the two types of weapons, with scores of elephants dropping dead and tripping up the ones directly behind them. Those that came crashing down were struck dead along with their riders before they could rise. Neither side was using fire as weapons, no doubt concerned about causing a forest fire that could kill all of them indiscriminately.

  Lord Jaysen Bolton, gray, bearded, and frail, brought his white on black stallion to a halt beside Sir Carlo. The thirty-five hundred men he had brought along with twenty Benhannon Guards, Accomplished Arden Rossi, and three thousand conscripts armed with bows and knives, gave him the third largest fighting force behind Tallen’s ten thousand riders and two thousand footmen.

  Lord Benamin Lamont, young, ambitious, and eager to fight, was how Daniel remembered him to be in prior meetings, was the last to join the huddle. His muster of twenty-five hundred men along with seven thousand archer-conscripts, and the Guards and Accomplished provided by Daniel, were a good field force and the second largest muster. Flights of arrows were flying between the trees and striking elephants and their riders, but were being deflected by the excellent armor, and did little more than provide distractions while men armed with deathsticks did the actual killing. The archers were a great help. Anyone distracted on a battlefield was sure to die.

  On other side of the General was Lieutenant Benettle. The red-haired young officer, who had entreated Daniel to help his wounded commander after the Battle of Bashierwood, jerked to the side, blood welling from multiple chest wounds, and then fell from his horse. The eyes of Bolter could not see the spell-work that had moments ago killed a man for whom Daniel had a great deal of respect, but it wasn’t hard to figure out the projectiles had to be invisible shards of solidified air that flew through chain mail as if the links were made of gauze.

  Moments later, invisible shards were ripping through the upper torsos of Ducaunan cavalrymen all along the front line, and hundreds more were dead before those bodies toppled from their steeds. In among the elephant brigade were men on horses and each rider held a quarterstaff. Every staff was aimed at the Ducaunan front and it was easy enough to determine anyone in line with the business end of the staff soon died riddled with holes. It was a scattershot weapon that did not need to be precisely aimed in order to be deadly. Squads of Benhannon Guardsmen rushed to encircle General Tallen, the Knights, and the two Lords of the Land, seeing as the personal shields gave the only real protection from the shards. Daniel was tempted to convey to the scene and strike down the enemy staff-wielders.

  The dying suddenly stopped along the front line, but he could see the staffs were still pointed at the Ducaunans and that the plants in the vicinity were being shredded. Crows were sliced to feathery, bloody pieces, as were buzzards and any other birds that did not take to the air fast enough. Bark and woodchips flew from the trunks of trees, and Daniel realized his Accomplisheds at the scene must have thrown up shields directly in front of the soldiers. Good job!

  The Zunean Commander must have realized the same thing because half of the staff wielders began aiming specifically at the trees. The limbs of an oak above the heads of a squad of horsemen splintered and the huge boughs came crashing down, killing a third of the squad and injuring others, and only sparing those few who managed to get out of the way. Trees and branches were toppling left and right all along the line, injuring or killing people and horses as they hit the ground. Daniel decided to have the hawk focus on a conveyance point. He could not sit by and watch the enemy prevail.

  A surge of pain came from Bolter’s tail, “Flee, flee, flee!” His frantic thoughts screamed through the mental link and the hawk began flapping and fluttering wildly in the air. His head shot back at an angle only a bird of prey could manage, and Daniel saw blood flowing from a terrible wound. He could feel the agony of the injury as if it was his own and the weakness growing in the raptor as droplets of blood squirted from the wound, spattering his feathers with each wing-beat. With the tail all but gone, he/Bolter could not control his flight and locating a conveyance point was out of the question. They were falling, spinning, and all he could feel was pain. All he could see was sky, trees, sky, trees, blurring his ability focus, and then with a sudden burst of pain, Daniel’s presence was back in his own body.

  Everyone in the conference-room was staring at him. “Are you alright?” Sherree asked with a face that matched the paleness of their bedsheets. “You shouted as if someone just stabbed you.”

  Leah’s hand was outstretched as if she had been reaching to steady him from a fall and her eyes were wide open with concern. All conversations had ceased and dead quiet filled the room. Most of the attendees had their mouths open, perhaps to ask the same question the First Lady had voiced, and a few, Martin and Jennel, had their eyebrows raised in surprise. Simon seemed to be holding his breath and Jeremiah was on his feet.

  Daniel took a moment to grieve for his feathered friend, a friend that died as a faithful scout, and then replied, “Bolter, the hawk, just died while flying over a battle that is taking place near our border with Zune. Tarin Conn has given his allies quarterstaffs that launch solidified shards of air in a broad spread. Our Accomplisheds placed forward shields to absorb the shards and then the staff wielders aimed at the trees above and beyond the shields. Bolter was struck down by a shard at that point so I don’t know what is happening now.”

  Daria leaned forward. “I do. Accomplished Jacoby just informed me he and the other Emissaries have raised the shields higher so the shards are no longer toppling trees. Tallen has asked the Accomplisheds and the members of the Benhannon Guard to lead the charge. Jacoby has agreed and they are moving forward with the shields absorbing the shards while lances of light are striking at the staff wielders. The rest of the Ducaunan forces are attacking with the deathsticks. Due to the sheer size of the Zunean assault, it will take time to defeat them, but Luke believes victory can be achieved within the next two marks. No Serpents have shown up yet, but if they do, I hope Samuel has some teams ready with the necessary visuals to convey there or our hoped for victory will be turned to defeat.”

  “I do,” Sam replied with a confidence Daniel needed to hear. The former Teki’s eyebrows remained separated on his brow, which meant he was feeling no anxiety or doubts about his people’s ability to carry out the task.

  The war provided little rest and lots of extra chores with small assurances of success, but that was no excuse to shirk what needed to be done. Daniel fixed his gaze upon the ISIG Conductor and wondered if what he was about to add would bring those eyebrows together. “Sam, a skyship base has been constructed at Lake Swead, on the outskirts of Los Ryn. Dusk is keeping an eye on it for me, but I want you to get more scouts into the area so we can have plenty of arrival points,” he began and went on in greater detail while the First Accomplished, First Lady, and the Conductors of the Atlantan Guild listened carefully to what the panther had wandered into. Sam’s eyebrows drew closer but they did not touch. Anxious, and yet not stressed too much, Daniel felt the same way.

  -----

  Sarah Shareen knew as the sun began to appear on the horizon, filling the sky with oranges, yellows, and reds, that she should turn Rosebud around and head back to the Lucia. She was hours over do. Strictly speaking, she had also flown much farther than a night patrol was supposed to go from the ship, but was so eager to be the first to discover the source of the High Intensity Spell Surges, that bending the rule in this instance did not seem to be such a bad thing. Perhaps she was spending too much time with Roy. To him rules were meant to be bent at his convenience and orders were more like suggestions. He was bit of a scamp, but pleasant to be around when he wasn’t moping about the unfairness of being a Nephi. Unlike him, she
accepted her circumstances and also knew how to work things to good advantage. She was never insulted when a Nephilim praised her accomplishments and added, “Great work for a Nephi,” at the end. She knew what she was and that her work was great. She had earned more rings of power than half the Nephilim in her age group at the academy in Maaradoon. She wore rings one through four on her left hand, along with the ninth ring sharing her index finger with the first. Rings five through eight were on her right hand.

  She was lying flat along the Quetzal’s spine, held in place by a solidified rope of air conjured from her amber ring which she always wore on her right hand. “Girl, it looks like we will not learn anything worth reporting,” she told Rosebud, who squawked a reply Sarah took to be agreement.

  They were flying below the scattered clouds, the bottoms of which glowed with the colors of the dawn. “Rosebud, up,” she ordered and the great Quetzal pumped her mighty wings.

  “One last look at what is ahead from on high and then we will turn back to your tower,” she promised her marvelous air-steed.

  She had great affection for the Quetzal, having been at the hatching. The egg assigned to her was near the edge of the nest and the little creature struggling to break free fought so hard the egg slipped over the edge of the nest and rolled on down the small slope. Sarah took off after it and caught up when the egg came to a stop under a rose bush. The hatching poked its head out of the shell amid the rosebuds. It was a fond memory and one she cherished, but had to put aside in order to focus on the task at hand.